Police clear out dozens occupying Pantheon to demand papers

Migrants shout outside the Pantheon monument, where illustrious French figures are buried, in the Latin quarter of Paris, Friday, July 12, 2019. Dozens of migrants invaded the Pantheon. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

PARIS (AP) — Police in Paris have removed scores of people who invaded the famed Pantheon where illustrious French figures are buried, in order to press their demands for residence papers.

Police moved into the monument hours after Friday’s occupation began and evacuated the occupiers who are illegally living in France and demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

Some members of the group identified themselves on Facebook as “Black Vests,” and members of a group called the La Chapelle Debout (Standing), a reference to the sector in northern Paris teaming with migrants without shelters and homeless.

One of the occupiers said in a video on Facebook before the evacuation that “they should put our papers in order. We would like to have the same rights as French people.”

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.